SubscribeI feel as though I have just been running from one place to the next for the past week! No time to blog...barely time to catch my breath. We had a lovely Autodesk Solution Day 2009 in Sydney with attendance of nearly 500 people. I was too busy to take any pictures myself - but am hoping some will be sent to me so I can post them. The event, which occured in the very cool Powerhouse Museum, was much like a mini-AU and I was very happy to assume the roll as Emcee for the morning's worth of great presentations. After lunch I did my usual AutoCAD 2010 Tips and Tricks presentation to a very hospitable Aussie crowd!
I also enjoyed a great customer visit and presentation with the lead CAD managers of Parsons Brinckerhoff who came together from around the world to their Sydney office. AutoCAD and Platform Products VP Guri Stark (of Autodesk) also joined me. This was an extremely sharp group who had fantastic feedback for us both to take back to Autodesk.
Tomorrow will be a stop in Brisbane for an event with KarelCAD. If you are local be sure to join me!
Over the weekend I did get to play tourist a little in Noosa where (by sheer coincidence) they were having the Noosa Wine and Food festival. Having eaten at the great restaurant Aria several years ago, which arguably has one of the most spectacular views in the world, I was delighted to meet Matt Moran of "The Chopping Block" fame (and Chef and owner of Aria). Below is a picture of myself and Matt (we're on a first name basis now) :-). He's a tad messy because he had just finished an awesome cooking demonstration (and those of you who know me - you know how much I love to cook!).
Marcia Hines also performed for the festival - who I understand is quite the Australian star (even though she was born in Boston). I understand she is a judge on the local Australian Idol as well! She was really incredible.
I am also a big animal lover and I had the goal of seeing a Koala in the wild...not in a zoo. Rumor had it they could be spotted in the local Headlands and so off I went in search of a Koala! Within five minutes of my search a nice man pointed out a Koala for me...(so it wasn't much of a search now was it?). It started pouring rain about one minute later so I suppose it was just as well.
I also went to the Steve Irwin's Australian Zoo where I found great amusement in the sign they have in front of the Crocodile exhibits..I think it definitely makes a point.
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And last but not least...I was delighted to feed the kangaroos. I stayed clear of the wallabies though (some of you might remember the "wallaby incident" I had the first time I visited Australia!)
So that is an overview of my trip to Australia so far and a nice weekend - this upcoming week is filled with many AutoCAD 2010 presentations!